Ships to bring back Indians from Libya

Noting that all Indians are safe in violence-hit Libya, government on Thursday said that it has commissioned ships to bring back people from that country free of cost and that the first vessel is approaching Benghazi port.

"Let me assure the nation that all Indians are safe and all those Indians who are willing to be evacuated will be evacuated safely and without any expenditure incurred by them," external affairs minister S M Krishna said.

He said that all possible arrangements were being made to evacuate Indians who are willing to get out of Libya, which has been rocked by protests against the Gaddafi regime.

"We have commissioned ships to move to Benghazi port," he told reporters outside Parliament, adding the first ship is "approaching the port".

While the first ship will be able to carry 1120 people, the second one has a smaller capacity, he said.

Asked if there are plans for arranging aircraft for evacuation, he said the "flight situation is very uncertain, but we are closely monitoring the developments".

India had yesterday deplored the use of force by Libyan authorities against anti-government protesters and said it was working on a "mammoth" operation to evacuate about 18,000 Indian nationals from the North African nation.

According to reports, over 300 people have been killed so far in the brutal crackdown against protesters demanding an end to Muammar Gadhafi's 41-year rule in Libya.